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GERMAN OF THE WEEK

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‘At his final heartbeat I knew I had to act’

The trial of a group of young men suspected of beating to death 20-year-old Jonny K. began in Berlin this week. His older sister's tireless campaigning for a safer capital in the wake of his death makes her our German of the Week.

'At his final heartbeat I knew I had to act'
Photo: DPA

Tina K. held her younger brother Jonny K.’s hand as she watched him die in hospital last October, after he was attacked by a group of young men late at night near the city’s town hall. Six young men now face trial, four of them charged with aggravated battery resulting in death.

“At his final heartbeat, I knew I had to act,” the 28-year-old wrote in an open letter posted on the website of “I am Jonny,” the anti-violence foundation she set up late last year. “We are not only responsible for what we do, but also for what we don’t do,” it continues.

The only member of Jonny K’s family in the courtroom on Monday, Tina has become the public face of the campaign against violence. It was, she told Bild newspaper, the first time she had seen the suspects, all aged between 19 and 24.

“I tried to look them in the eyes and some of them looked back but others wouldn’t. Those who did had empty gazes,” she said.

In the run-up to the trial, Tina also organised a charity concert held on what would have been her brother’s 21st birthday. She has also been running workshops in schools to work towards creating a safer Berlin.

Regular television appearances and newspaper interviews have become the norm, and last year she received a Bambi media award, and was nominated for a regional paper and broadcaster’s Berliner of the Year award.

Yet she did not plan to put herself into the public eye until she saw the media reports that followed Jonny K.’s death. “The newspapers said he was so drunk he couldn’t stand, and concentrated just on him being Vietnamese,” she said.

In reality, it was Jonny’s friend who was struggling to walk. Jonny had put him on a chair so he could go and get him a taxi when the group of young men arrived. The suspected ringleader, 19-year-old Onur U., denied this on Monday.

“I am convinced that ‘I am Jonny’ can find a way to change our increasingly unscrupulous society,” Tina K. told the Bild newspaper. “We want a safer Berlin, one in which we don’t have to be scared every time our family, friends, or children go outside.”

Her work was praised by Berlin Interior Minister Frank Henkel on Monday morning. He told regional broadcaster RBB that Tina K. was an important force in the city’s struggle against violence.

“No matter now painful it is, I will be [in the court room] each day,” she told Berliner Morgenpost. “I want them to tell me to my face what they did.”

The Local/jcw

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BERLIN

EXPLAINED: Berlin’s latest Covid rules

In response to rapidly rising Covid-19 infection rates, the Berlin Senate has introduced stricter rules, which came into force on Saturday, November 27th. Here's what you need to know.

A sign in front of a waxing studio in Berlin indicates the rule of the 2G system
A sign in front of a waxing studio indicates the rule of the 2G system with access only for fully vaccinated people and those who can show proof of recovery from Covid-19 as restrictions tighten in Berlin. STEFANIE LOOS / AFP

The Senate agreed on the tougher restrictions on Tuesday, November 23rd with the goal of reducing contacts and mobility, according to State Secretary of Health Martin Matz (SPD).

He explained after the meeting that these measures should slow the increase in Covid-19 infection rates, which was important as “the situation had, unfortunately, deteriorated over the past weeks”, according to media reports.

READ ALSO: Tougher Covid measures needed to stop 100,000 more deaths, warns top German virologist

Essentially, the new rules exclude from much of public life anyone who cannot show proof of vaccination or recovery from Covid-19. You’ll find more details of how different sectors are affected below.

Shops
If you haven’t been vaccinated or recovered (2G – geimpft (vaccinated) or genesen (recovered)) from Covid-19, then you can only go into shops for essential supplies, i.e. food shopping in supermarkets or to drugstores and pharmacies.

Many – but not all – of the rules for shopping are the same as those passed in the neighbouring state of Brandenburg in order to avoid promoting ‘shopping tourism’ with different restrictions in different states.

Leisure
2G applies here, too, as well as the requirement to wear a mask with most places now no longer accepting a negative test for entry. Only minors are exempt from this requirement.

Sport, culture, clubs
Indoor sports halls will off-limits to anyone who hasn’t  been vaccinated or can’t show proof of recovery from Covid-19. 2G is also in force for cultural events, such as plays and concerts, where there’s also a requirement to wear a mask. 

In places where mask-wearing isn’t possible, such as dance clubs, then a negative test and social distancing are required (capacity is capped at 50 percent of the maximum).

Restaurants, bars, pubs (indoors)
You have to wear a mask in all of these places when you come in, leave or move around. You can only take your mask off while you’re sat down. 2G rules also apply here.

Hotels and other types of accommodation 
Restrictions are tougher here, too, with 2G now in force. This means that unvaccinated people can no longer get a room, even if they have a negative test.

Hairdressers
For close-contact services, such as hairdressers and beauticians, it’s up to the service providers themselves to decide whether they require customers to wear masks or a negative test.

Football matches and other large-scale events
Rules have changed here, too. From December 1st, capacity will be limited to 5,000 people plus 50 percent of the total potential stadium or arena capacity. And only those who’ve been vaccinated or have recovered from Covid-19 will be allowed in. Masks are also compulsory.

For the Olympic Stadium, this means capacity will be capped at 42,000 spectators and 16,000 for the Alte Försterei stadium. 

Transport
3G rules – ie vaccinated, recovered or a negative test – still apply on the U-Bahn, S-Bahn, trams and buses in Berlin. It was not possible to tighten restrictions, Matz said, as the regulations were issued at national level.

According to the German Act on the Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases, people have to wear a surgical mask or an FFP2 mask  on public transport.

Christmas markets
The Senate currently has no plans to cancel the capital’s Christmas markets, some of which have been open since Monday. 

According to Matz, 2G rules apply and wearing a mask is compulsory.

Schools and day-care
Pupils will still have to take Covid tests three times a week and, in classes where there are at least two children who test positive in the rapid antigen tests, then tests should be carried out daily for a week.  

Unlike in Brandenburg, there are currently no plans to move away from face-to-face teaching. The child-friendly ‘lollipop’ Covid tests will be made compulsory in day-care centres and parents will be required to confirm that the tests have been carried out. Day-care staff have to document the results.

What about vaccination centres?
Berlin wants to expand these and set up new ones, according to Matz. A new vaccination centre should open in the Ring centre at the end of the week and 50 soldiers from the German army have been helping at the vaccination centre at the Exhibition Centre each day since last week.

The capacity in the new vaccination centre in the Lindencenter in Lichtenberg is expected to be doubled. There are also additional vaccination appointments so that people can get their jabs more quickly. Currently, all appointments are fully booked well into the new year.

 

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